Fiat Chrysler’s Toledo assembly complex tops 500,000 vehicle output

For the first time in the history of Fiat Chrysler Automobiles' Toledo Assembly Complex, the plant has produced over half a million Jeeps in a year. Thanks to very strong demand for the Jeep Wrangler and Jeep Cherokee it produces, the Toledo complex has become the second busiest assembly site in North America this year next to Nissan's Smyrna facility in Tennessee.

In fact, Nissan’s Smyrna site is expected to produce around 25-percent more vehicles than FCA’s Toledo plant. Only four of the Top 10 largest assembly site in North America -- Nissan's Smyrna complex and FCA's Toledo, Windsor (Ontario) and Jefferson North (Detroit) plants – are expected to produce more vehicles this year than in 2013.

Output at the Toledo complex has almost doubled compared with 2013, when Fiat Chrysler was ramping up the production of the Jeep Cherokee.

The previous record output at Toledo was 377,911 vehicles in 2007. Both plant and union officials in Toledo remarked that they were urged by Fiat Chrysler chief executive Sergio Marchionne to top 500,000 vehicles in 2014 as part of his target to build and sell over 1 million Jeeps this year.

So far this year, Fiat Chrysler has sold 44-percent more Jeep vehicles to 629,074 units in the United States. Dominating the sales tabulation for the brand are the Grand Cherokee, the Wrangler and the Cherokee.

On the other hand, output at other large assembly site in North America like Volkswagen's Puebla facility in Mexico; Toyota's Georgetown plant in Kentucky; and Honda's Marysville site in Ohio – has dropped so far this year, according to the Automotive News Data Center.